Balderas family building $320,000 home next to disaster site

BEN EGEL

Thursday

May 4, 2017 at 1:12 PM

AMARILLO — After the accidental pesticide poisoning that killed four of Peter and Martha Balderas’ children and hospitalized their remaining four kids as well as the parents on Jan. 2, the family has bounced around, depending upon the kindness of their parish and friends to keep a roof over their heads.

They’ve moved from the Baptist St. Anthony Health System to the care of the St. Laurence Catholic Church to a friend’s house in northwest Amarillo. And now, right next door to the place where they lost nearly half their family, the Balderases are developing a property worth more than six times as much as their old house.

The five-bedroom, two-bathroom wood house under construction at 1303 Carolyn St. will be 3,163 square feet and is valued at $319,225 plus a $4,000 carport, according to city permits. Peter Balderas said he expects it to be finished around October.

It’s a far cry from their former house, valued at roughly $50,000 by the Potter-Randall Appraisal District, where five of their eight children slept on the floor. The new place will also shine compared to the two homes on the other side of Carolyn Street, which are valued at $78,000 and $69,000.

Balderas bought the lot at 1303 Carolyn St. in February 2015, per PRAD records, then bought a neighboring lot for half price one month after his children died.

Just five days after telling the Amarillo Globe-News he would never return to his family’s former home, he was preparing to build a new house that stretches across both land parcels.

Images of his four deceased children — Yasmeen, 17; Josue, 11; Johnnie, 9; and Felipe, 7 — will remain burned in his mind for the rest of his life, he said.

With avoiding them not an option, he wants to demolish the old house and build a memorial to them that includes crosses, their pictures and trees in a place where his family can pray.

"Say I go to Kansas or Mexico City. All the pictures are sticking with me, all the videos and everything," Balderas said. "We have to stay close because the babies are buried right here in this town."

"We can’t leave. We have to live here for the rest of (our) lives, and stay and do something for this property. A memorial — something beautiful."

Utter the name "Balderas" around Amarillo, and out come the wallets.

Rebar and concrete for the new house have been donated by A1 Building Supply, Thomas Redi-Mix Co. and MH Civil Constructing, and family friends are helping Balderas build it for no pay.

The city of Amarillo waived all fees for water and sewer extensions and taps on the new house, Deputy Building Official Jonathan Lofton said, and will likely waive construction permit fees as well.

Lofton was surprised that the Balderases wanted to move back next to their old property, which has yet to be condemned by the city, but acknowledged individuals grieve in different ways.

"People are people, and sometimes you can’t justify why people do the things that they do," Lofton said.

"Maybe there’s some sentimental value with that house. Living beside that location might be something for the family to hold onto."

A GoFundMe page set up after the incident raised $51,253, and a "Balderas Family Benefit Fund" was established at Amarillo National Bank. Patti McKnight, the main bank’s lobby manager, said she could not disclose the amount of money or goods donated.

Lupita’s Grill, Wade Gordon Hairdressing Academy, Lemongrass Sushi &Wok and Chicken Express each donated a portion of their sales in the weeks after the deaths, and Fiesta Foods pledged to match all donations up to $2,500.

Eight other businesses set up donation jars for the family, and benefit dinners were organized at Carril San Carlos and Gatti’s Pizza.

The generosity extended outside the city too, up into the world of corporate banking.

Balderas had initially said he couldn’t tear down his old house because his family owed about $40,000 on their mortgage.

But after the Globe-News contacted Wells Fargo to verify his claim, the bank decided to relieve the family of the remainder of their debt.

"We offer our deepest sympathy to Mr. Balderas, his family and friends over this terribly tragic situation that they have endured," Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications Ruth Villalonga wrote in a statement.

"Wells Fargo has reached out to Mr. Balderas to let him know that, under the circumstances, we will be writing off the balance of his loan and will not hold him accountable for further repayment of the debt."

The Texas Department of Agriculture’s enforcement division is reviewing its field investigation to determine whether use of the pesticide violated the Texas Administrative Code, Communications Officer Jennifer Dorsett said. The enforcement division’s recommendations will then be forwarded to TDA’s attorneys.

No members of the public are allowed inside the house until an insurance company’s investigation concludes — although that didn’t stop burglars from breaking in and stealing electronics in early March. Balderas says he now drives by the house a few nights per week.

One night, he rolled up to a truck waiting outside his house. When he pulled close to the driver’s window, it sped off, out of sight.

The family is still recovering, he says. All are in therapy, and his wife, Martha, now takes medication to prevent fluid from building up around her heart. She was the one hospitalized the longest, remaining for weeks in ICU at University Medical Center in Lubbock.

Neither she nor Peter are working now, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. Between driving Martha to medical appointments in Lubbock, counseling sessions and building the new house, he says he’s too busy to take on any additional construction jobs.

Right now, he’s focusing on rebuilding the family’s life by building them a new home.

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